There is a popular saying, "There is no 'I' in team."The Newtown Bee, ahead of his Election Day match-up with Democratic opponent Phil Dwyer, Senator Tony Hwang virtually took no sole credit for any of the achievements he helped accomplished during his first term in the statehouse.tonyhwang.org.

But after spending more than 30 minutes talking with the incumbent 28th District state senator, one quickly learns there is no "I" in Hwang, either.

In the course of a wide-ranging conversation with

In fact, on virtually every point, he went out of the way to be sure to include points of praise, and asserting the deep respect he feels, for all his political colleagues regardless of experience or party affiliation.

At the same time, Sen Hwang conveyed not only how proud he is to have been elected to serve in both the Connecticut General Assembly and Senate, but to represent his hometown of Fairfield, and Newtown - which he repeatedly referred to as "a very special community."

For those unfamiliar with his background, Sen Hwang developed his welcoming and collaborative nature out of numerous challenges and adversity he experienced as a child. According to his official biography, the 50-year-old Fairfield resident and married father of two was born in Taiwan - one of three children - to parents that had escaped Communist China as teens and lived under martial law in Taiwan. Neither had attended college and both worked as blue collar laborers.

Sen Hwang did not see his father for nearly seven years growing up. The patriarch would send a paycheck back to the family - four generations, at times, living under one roof.

Ultimately, his father brought the family to the United States, and they settled in Watertown, N.Y., in a federal housing project.

Sen Hwang took remedial English as a second language (ESL) classes and benefited greatly from what he described as "passionate, caring teachers and administrators" that helped him adapt academically.

Overcoming social stigmas and learning challenges, he made it through high school in Syracuse, N.Y., receiving support from Head Start and Upper Bound educational assistance programs, sacrificing Saturdays and summer vacation to receive instruction and coaching.

Transitioning to Cornell University, he eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in labor relations and organizational behavior, worked briefly in corporate with United Technologies, and entered the executive search business, ultimately founding his own company recruiting technology executives.

For the past 12 years, he has been involved in residential real estate. During his corporate climb, Sen Hwang started a family, relocated to Fairfield and today has two children.

In 2008, he was elected state representative for the 134th District becoming the first Asian Pacific American state senator in Connecticut history. His next step was running for and being elected to the 28th Senate District seat formerly occupied by John McKinney in 2014.

The Newtown Bee, Sen Hwang said one of his biggest concerns is the prospect of negative campaign strategies being launched before Election Day on the part of his opponent. In 2014, he said he faced an 11th hour complaint by his opponent because he was wearing clothing embroidered with his name and campaign jargon.

During his chat with

He also faced criticism over a former campaign worker who was arrested and incarcerated for a domestic violence incident. Jumping off from that subject, the senator said he was proud to be part of supporting Connecticut's "Second Chance Society," which became a national model for the Obama administration in regard to dealing with and supporting the success of those who are incarcerated and those who return to society from incarceration.

"What we're looking at are individuals incarcerated due to illness, addiction, cycles of poverty - the setting and circumstances they faced - who have paid their debt," he said. "It's really the new, modern-day society version of a scarlet letter. Good people make mistakes, and they should not continue paying the price with a societal stigma."

Sen Hwang said state residents need to fully embrace the state's new programming, that is working to address the psychological and environmental challenges those individuals face, and to help see them reemployed with a support network that eliminates recidivism and helps return them to productive roles in society.

Turning his attention to current major and anticipated future state budget deficits, Sen Hwang expressed frustration that budget cutting has fallen so heavily on social and human service programs. But instead of attacking individuals involved in making those financial decisions, he turned his focus to the future, saying everybody in Hartford from the governor on down needs to roll up their sleeves and commit to retooling the practices and policies that have put Connecticut in such a deficit mode.

"We have to systematically examine how these budgets came to be," he said. "Two years ago I remember Senate leaders saying how good the last budget was - but within a few days it started leaking. As a result it was the most vulnerable who were impacted. We didn't truly look at a shared sacrifice across the board. The challenge is bad, bad public policy."

Sen Hwang said he regrets that the majority Democrats in Hartford rejected alternative budget proposals offered by Republicans that focused on reducing spending, while crafting programs that GOP party leaders believed would help spur economic development and retain and grow state jobs. But again, he believes that working across the aisle and collaborating will serve the state better than continuing in an us versus them atmosphere.

"I stand ready to work in a bipartisan basis to solve the problem moving forward," he said.

Sen Hwang also reviewed the successes he was able to achieve working collaboratively on issues from school safety to enhancing penalties for impaired drivers, environmental measures, and a very hard-fought initiative that will bring enhanced benefits to state firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer.

"I truly appreciate and respect every legislator up there," he said. "We may not agree, but I understand the value of the time they give up there because of their love for their community and the love of their state. They may have different perspectives, but I move into every conversation I have in Hartford with tremendous respect."

He said some of the most important lessons he has learned since he became Newtown's senator came from working on legislation specific to the community. He is particularly proud of helping the community recoup Excess Cost Grant funds that were withheld after the local school district received a significant injection of education revenue from federal grants following the Sandy Hook tragedy.

His experience seeing Newtown literally terrorized post-12/14 by pranksters who made threats against local schools led him to partner with all his legislative colleagues to create and pass a bill increasing penalties for such acts.

Learn more about the incumbent senator and his campaign positions at